My first experience of having Texas barbecue for the first time in a number of years was not, well..., it was somewhat disappointing. I wanted to have top-notch barbecue when I was in Texas and I looked up a number of barbecue places that were near me in the North Dallas area. One barbecue place seemed to stick out mainly because of the number of positive reviews, that it was only open 3 days a week at lunch, and the interesting name. And it turned out that it wasn't far from where I was at the trade show. So, for lunch one day, I headed down the road to Cattleack BBQ.
Todd David grew up in St. Louis and started to get into barbecuing when he was a teenager. He continued to dabble with barbecuing meats when he was majoring in accounting at Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State University). After graduating college, David moved to the Dallas area and started a business that restored other businesses and buildings that were damaged by water, fire or smoke. On the weekends, he continued to dabble with smoking meats in his backyard.
Along with his wife Misty, Todd David ran the restoration business for over 30 years. During that time, David used to throw parties for some of his clients that included him making barbecue. Of course, those clients would remark that David needed to open his own barbecue joint. But he always said that he only did barbecue as a hobby.
That is, until Todd and Misty decided to retire from the restoration business. Switching directions, the couple started a barbecue catering business in 2011. At first, they liked doing the occasional parties, receptions and corporate gigs. But it got to be too much for them and they wanted to cut back on the catering. But they didn't want to stop doing the barbecuing. The Davids found a building in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch and opened Cattleack BBQ in 2013. It was open only two days a week - and occasionally on Saturdays - and it was a bring-your-own-bottle joint. But their barbecue was so good that lines would form before they would open their doors and they were usually sold out around 2 p.m.
Recognition came to the David's in 2017 when Texas Monthly magazine named Cattleack BBQ as the third best barbecue joint in a statewide poll. The lines on Thursday and Friday before they opened at 11 a.m. became much longer and they usually sold out well before 2 p.m.
In 2018, the Davids welcomed a new employee by the name of Andrew Castelan. Like Todd David, Castelan studied accounting and got his degree from the University of Texas in 2012. He immediately got a job at the prestigious EY (formerly Ernst & Young) accounting firm. And like David years before, Castelan would barbecue on weekends as a way to get away from thinking about work. However, it was during a visit to the venerable Franklin Barbecue in Austin where he met pitmaster Aaron Franklin when he really caught the barbecue bug. During a 30 minute conversation with Castelan, Franklin was so taken with Castlean's passion for barbecue that he convinced the young man to buy a 500 gallon propane tank and build his own smoker.
Castelan did just that, but after it was finished he immediately got into trouble with the home owners association who said that he couldn't use or keep the smoker on his property. Castelan did what anybody would do in that situation - he sold his home and moved to an area where he could park his large smoker outside his house.
The barbecue bug was too big for Castelan to bear, so he quit his corporate gig at EY and went to work at Ten50 BBQ in Richardson, TX, not too far from his hometown of Plano. Castelan worked as a pitmaster for 10 months further learning the art of Texas barbecue. After working at Ten50 BBQ, Castelan hooked on with Cattleack BBQ in 2018. Castelan worked for David for six months prepping food before he was even allowed to work the barbecue pits at Cattleack BBQ.
For the next five years, Castelan worked side-by-side with David whom Castelan claimed was a "tremendous mentor". And when David decided in 2023 to retire, he made Castelan an offer he couldn't refuse - to take over the business. Castelan jumped at the chance and purchased Cattleack BBQ in August of last year.
Pictured right - Todd David and Andrew Castelan. Photo courtesy Dallas Morning News.
David wanted someone who would continue the legacy that he and his wife started with Cattleack and provide what amounted to an "insurance policy" that the business would continue, not only for his employees, but for the customers who would regularly come through the door. And David's "retirement" just meant that he wouldn't be working the day-to-day operations and manning the pits the night before they would open. But he would still be working the line as a meat slicer when they would be open for three days a week after Castelan added Wednesday to the Thursday and Friday openings soon after he took over. (Cattleack BBQ continues to open on the first Saturday of each month.)
It was just before noon when I pulled up to Cattleack BBQ which is located in the midst of a neighborhood of office buildings and light industrial complexes on Gamma Road in Farmers Branch. (see map) Originally founded as Mustang Branch in the early 1840's, it was renamed Farmers Branch in 1845 because of the rich and tillable soil in the area. During the 19th Century, city fathers advertised widely across the U.S. and Europe trying to entice people to move to the area.
A large group of people - mainly firemen - had congregated in front of the restaurant and the small parking lot was full. I had read that the restaurant could have lines out the door, but these guys were just sort of milling about around a covered area with a couple picnic tables underneath. I found a parking space just north of Cattleack BBQ on Gamma Road and walked down the street.
While there wasn't a line out the door just yet (the firemen milling about were waiting on more colleagues to show up), there were about a dozen people in line inside for the cafeteria-style order line. The menu for the restaurant was on a chalk board on one wall, while another wall had photos of a number of local and national celebrities who had visited the barbecue joint in the past. On a small shelf above the photos were a number barbecue sauces that either had been dropped off or collected by the Davids over the years.
The line moved relatively fast and before I knew it I was ordering from one of the guys working the line. The serving line featured a corrugated tin wall behind the prep line with a large beverage cooler in front of the wall. Meat warmers were also behind the serving line.
The dining room was just past the end of the cafeteria line. It featured another large corrugated tin wall with signage on it along with a number of hats. I didn't bother to look at much of the signage or hats, but I did notice a number of the large flags from local area college and professional teams hanging from the rafters above the dining room. It was spacious enough where people weren't necessarily on top of one another.
The original Cattleack BBQ was just the space where the cafeteria line was located. In 2016, the Davids were able to take over the space beside them to turn into a dining area. After shutting down for 2 weeks in June of 2016, they reopened in early July of that year more than doubling the size of the restaurant. A series of Edison lights were strung across the dining room that featured a number of picnic tables underneath. I don't usually like to sit at picnic tables - especially if they're going to be used as community tables. But there was enough of them that I could sit by myself at one and not be bothered while I was eating.
I ended up getting the Texas Trinity platter - a thick slice of brisket, a meat pork rib, and a choice of either smoked sausage or a Hatch chile cheese sausage. Of course, I went with the Hatch chile cheese sausage that was sliced into 7 or 8 pieces. For my side, I had a choice of a number of sides including a vinegar-based cole slaw, Hatch chile mac & cheese, and dirty rice with burnt brisket ends. However, I got the burnt end brisket baked beans. After placing my order for the food and walking down the line, a guy behind the counter asked me what I wanted to drink. "Do you guys have beer," I asked.
"We do," he said enthusiastically. He turned into the cooler behind him and pulled out a can of Lone Star Beer. Score!!! Lone Star Beer - the Old Style of Texas - and barbecue. What could be better than that? (Cattleack's web site says that you can also bring in your own beer, if you like.)
Well, it did get better. When I went to pay, the lady at the cash register said, "The Lone Star is on the house!" Double score!!! Wow! I wanted to reach over the cash register and hug her!
Now, the experience I had a couple days prior at an "upscale" barbecue restaurant was pretty disappointing. But I can't say anything bad about the food at Cattleack BBQ. The brisket slice was thick, moist and had a wonderful flavor. The pork rib was thick and meaty with a great seasoning on the meat. The meat fell off the bone very easily and was just wonderful. They had a couple different types of sauce - a mustard sauce that I didn't care for, and a sweet and somewhat spicy barbecue sauce that I thought was outstanding. The baked beans, on their own, were very good and really didn't need any additional barbecue sauce as I'm accustomed to do when I get baked beans at a barbecue place.
But the Hatch chile cheese sausage link may have been the star attraction. I'm usually not big on smoked sausage, but this was simply outstanding. Smoked sausage is big in Texas - especially in Central Texas where German immigrants settled in the 19th century. I've just had a hard time warming up to smoked sausage in the past, but the smoked Hatch chile cheese sausage they had at Cattleack definitely turned my head.
My visit to Cattleack BBQ was just fabulous. I don't care for cafeteria/counter - style ordering, but that seems to be the norm for most good barbecue joints in Texas. And the term "good" is under-emphasizing how great the barbecue was at Cattleack. The brisket was killer, the pork rib was perfect, and the smoked Hatch chile cheese sausage was an eye-opener. Plus on top of all that - I got a FREE Lone Star beer out of the deal! The only problem I had with the place is that they're only open for 3 days a week - once a month on Saturdays - and for just 3 hours, or until their barbecue runs out. But the hit-or-miss cycle of the restaurant is worth the trouble if you're looking for great barbecue in the north Dallas area.
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